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Topic: While projecting a film, what is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
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John Yapp
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 148
From: Telford England.
Registered: Dec 2011
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posted August 16, 2012 06:00 AM
Perhaps my experience wasn't as potentially embarrassing as the other stories as it was in my own home, but I often use my kitchen as a projection area as I can get a nice long throw onto the wall by placing the projector on the worktop by the sink area. I projected a L&H print which had a couple of splices, but usually projected well. I threaded the film, turned off the lights, and watched the 400ft reel through from start to finish. I had failed to notice that a splice near the start of the movie had come apart after the film had passed through the projector, and instead of winding on to the take-up spool, had made itself a path directly into a bowl full of washing up water. Sadly, although I had heard that wetting the film was a great way to close up scratches, I must have respooled it before it was completely dry, and was never able to project it again.
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Bradford A Moore
Master Film Handler
Posts: 272
From: Provincetown, Ma
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted August 16, 2012 06:22 AM
This was my worst for sure. A few weeks ago in memory of Sally Ride who passed away, and who was the first woman in outer space, I showed to a audience Fritz Langs's Woman In The Moon. I was using my Elmo St 800, and when I had threaded the third reel, I had forgotten to latch the lock which holds the reel in place. A few minutes after in started in fell off, and knocked my cup of red wine off too. The reel fell into the puddle of wine.
I then acted very quickly and wiped off any wet wine on the both sides of the reel. My audience was very helpful and understanding, and I didn't show that reel, and went on to the last two. After the showing I ran home, and very carefully cleaned the film on my rewinds with film renew. At first it was very difficult due to the stickiness, but I was able to get it smooth again. I then let it dry overnight like I would do anyway, and for safe measures repeated the process the following day. luckily when I did show the reel, it appeared to be fine.
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Claus Harding
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1149
From: Washington DC
Registered: Oct 2006
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posted August 16, 2012 10:20 PM
Ah, the hair-raisers.... ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Don't drink and rewind is the moral here..
I had run my old friend "King Kong" again in 16mm in my living room on the Eiki long-play unit, using 6000-ft reels.
Having had a couple of drinks, I was feeling fine when I set the unit up to rewind.
Normally I will run it in "playback" mode for rewind which limits the speed, and I always stay with it, but that night I put it in full rewind and went to the kitchen for a cold one.
The thing about the unit (and the large Goldberg aluminum reels) is that it may take a bit for them to get up to full speed, but once they do, unless you want the manicure of a lifetime, you keep your fingertips away from them, because at that point they are running almost as if they are cooling fans...
I had cracked the beer when I heard the sound.
That awful, familiar "fttt, fttt, fttt" that said that film was being spilled at high speed...stormed into the living room and saw that "Kong" had escaped again. This time not from a NY theatre, but from the projector-mounted rewind-roller that the Eiki unit uses.
"Kong" was being spilled onto my rug at a hair-raising speed and, worse, was also busy getting wrapped around the drive axle of the take-up reel....the horror.
I hit the "off" on the LP unit's motor which was academic at best as the mass of the reels would keep them going for a while and then there was only one thing to do. I grabbed the flanges from the front with my hands and shut the reels down before the possible massacre of the print could commence.
I now had two things: lots of 16mm print in a pile on the floor and blood dripping from my palms onto the rug, but the film had stopped.
After taking care of my hands, I could now finally begin cursing my own immense stupidity and my violating every good film-handler rule ![[Wink]](wink.gif) because I knew the job that lay ahead....
The film, miraculously, was fine. To this day, I couldn't tell you where the accident took place on the reel, a fact for which I am very grateful.
Never leave a projector in operation...
Claus.
--------------------
"Why are there shots of deserts in a scene that's supposed to take place in Belgium during the winter?" (Review of 'Battle of the Bulge'.)
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted August 17, 2012 04:11 AM
One of my mishaps was when screening the 4x400 "Mighty Joe
Young" mounted on a 1200' spool to my mates on my Elmo ST1200, I settled down and enjoyed the show with them.Halfway
through,I got up to refresh our drinks,only to find a mass of film
all around the machine, the cause being the little plastic track
guide that pushes back on a spring to accomadate larger spools
had become dislodged and sprung against the spool,halting
take up.The film wasn't harmed,but the useless guide was
removed and a roller left in situ.Every ST that I have subsequently had, has undergone this alteration.
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